4 Questions the Blue Jays Must Answer in Spring Training

The Blue Jays still have to figure out a fifth starter, the bullpen breakdown, and maybe a few more moves before Opening Day.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Spring camp has opened and pitchers and catchers and pitching and catching. So, surely, the offseason pontificating is over... right? Not quite.

The Blue Jays, just like every other MLB team, still have a few lingering queries to answer during the first few weeks of Spring Training. With position battles, roster spots up for grabs, and maybe a few more transactions to come, here are four questions the Jays have to answer in the next few weeks:

Are The Offseason Moves Over?

Toronto's offseason heavy lifting has been long done. They filled the mid-rotation hole, rejigged the outfield, and got way more left-handed at the plate. But, there's a case for maybe one or two more small tweaks.

Yusei Kikuchi and Tim Mayza remain the only healthy left-handed pitchers on the entire 40-man roster, so there's room for a veteran southpaw in the bullpen. And, currently, Whit Merrifield seems like the regular left fielder against left-handed pitching, so maybe a platoon corner OF could be of use.

Neither need is extremely pressing, and both seem more the type of tweaks to make at the deadline. But with guys like Jurickson Profar and Will Smith still on the market, there are some obvious fits out there that could come at a discount.

Who's The Fifth Starter?

This is the big battle. Like any good contending team, the Blue Jays don't have many meaningful spots up for grabs in spring, but the final rotation spot is one exception.

While vets like Zach Thompson and Drew Hutchison could make a case with strong spring play, the fifth starter contest seems down to Yusei Kikuchi and Mitch White. Both guys had ERAs over five last year but have shown better before, with a 4.42 ERA for Kikuchi and 3.66 for White with their previous teams in 2021. Currently, Kikuchi has a leg up as White's starter build-up was slightly delayed by a shoulder impingement, but both will have an opportunity to earn the job out of camp.

For Kikuchi, the key is command. The lefty tinkered his way through 2022, but consistently struggled with untimely walks and hung breaking pitches that found their way over the wall.

For White, it's missing bats—or at least dodging barrels. White had one of the worst whiff rates in baseball in 2022 and all four of his pitches induced less swing and miss after joining the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. He'll never be a big strikeout guy, but he's gotta push the K rates back up to successfully live as the soft-contact inducer he was in LA. 

What's The Bullpen Pecking Order?

The first six spots in Toronto's bullpen are spoken for: Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Yimi García, Anthony Bass, and Adam Cimber. 

After that, the unknowns begin. Whoever loses the fifth starter battle between Kikuchi and White is likely to break camp with the team, as both guys are out of minor-league options. With an MLB track record, lack of options, and proven ability to act as a potential second lefty (due to his changeup), Trevor Richards should also have the inside lane for a spot in the 'pen. That brings us to eight.

In the past, the Jays have been inclined to carry nine relievers, but recent rule changes will allow them to roster just 13 pitchers this year, and thus an eight-man pen. If Richards and one of starters round out the bullpen, the remaining arms will be battling for the first man up. The guys in that mix are Zach Pop, Trent Thornton, Nate Pearson, Zach Thompson, and maybe prospects like Hayden Juenger, Bowden Francis, and Yosver Zulueta. Toronto also brought in non-roster vets Paul Fry, Jay Jackson, and Luke Bard to compete for spots, but they'd have to earn a 40-man spot, too.

Just one injury could throw the whole order into chaos, but with a jumble of names fighting for really one or two spots, it'll take an exceptional performance from one of the guys looking in from the outside to unexpectedly head north with the team.

What To Do With The Final Roster Spot?

Unless the Jays do bring in one more bat, the roster battle on the hitting side could be wide open.

I'm not going to bore you with the batters certain to break camp (spoiler alert: Vlad's gonna make the Jays), but there are 12 established big leaguers who have all but guaranteed jobs for Toronto this year, leaving one open spot.

Toronto has enough defensive versatility to fill in depth at any position with those 12 guys, so it should allow them to bring any position as that 26th man. The likely candidates are OF Nathan Lukes, OF Wynton Bernard, INF/OF Otto Lopez, INF Addison Barger, and INF Vinny Capra. We could also see a prospect like Spencer Horwitz really make a case with a strong spring, but he probably needs consistent playing time and Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Brandon Belt should block him at the big leagues to start the year.

The Jays have been inclined to go defense with this final spot before (Gosuke Katoh broke camp with the team last year), so Lopez and Lukes are probably the early favorites with weeks until Opening Day.